Timekeeper.



No. 805,375. PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905. A. A. NEWMAN.

TIMEKEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.9, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHBET 1.

F .l. A

PATENTBD NOV. 21, 1905.

A. A. NEWMAN.

TIMEKEBPER. 4 APPLICATION FILED SEPT.9, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 805,375. PATENTED NOV. 21. 1905.

' A. A. NEWMAN.

TIMEKEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPLQ, 1904.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ABRAHAM A. NEWMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TIMEKEEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed September 9, 1904. Serial No. 223,808.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM A. NEWMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Timekeepers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in timekeepers; and its object is to produce a device of this class which shall have certain advantages which will appear more fully and at large in the course of this specification.

To this end my invention consists in certain novel features which are shown in the accompanying drawings as embodied in my preferred form of construction.

In the aforesaid drawings, Figurel is atop plan of my improved device with the cover of the cabinet removed. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the members forming the check-tube and hopper, the ring on the top of the hopper being shown in central longi tudinal section. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the stationary outer ring and one of its supporting-brackets. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section in the line L 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the gate. Fig. 6 is a radial vertical section in the line 6 6 of Fig. 7, showing in detail the end of the check-tube and the adjacent parts. Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the check-tube in the line 7 7 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a front elevation of my improved device with the front board lowered. Fig. 9 is a horizontal section in the line 9 9 of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a longitudinal section in the line 10 10 of Fig. 8, showing the gate arrangement. Fig. 11 is a horizontal section in the line 11 11 of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a number of the check-pockets, showing their construction in detail. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the removable bottom of one of said pockets. Fig. 14 is a horizontal section in the line 1 1 14 of Fig. 10, showing a check in place and in engagement with the gate; and Fig. 15 is an under plan of the rotatable spider which supports the operating parts of my device.

Referring to the drawings, A is a cabinet, preferably of the form illustrated, described, and claimed in my application filed on even date herewith and allotted Serial No. 223,810. This cabinet is perforated at its top to receive a block at, having a slot through which a check may be dropped. Secured to the base of the cabinet is a block A, preferably circular in form, to the top of which is secured a plate A Upon this plate rests a spider B, Figs. 1 and 15, a pivot?) being provided about which the spider can be rotated. The lower face of the spider has a downwardly-projecting flange b, which bears upon the plate A and furnishes a firm bearing. This flange is notched at 6 Fig. 15, to be engaged by the end 0 of a locking-bar C, which extends radially away from the center of the device and is guided in brackets 0 to be moved longitudinally. A head 0 is provided, by which the locking-bar can be moved back and forth to engage its end with the notch N, as aforesaid, to lock the spider against rotation.

To the lower faces of the arms of the spider B are secured a plurality of u p wardl y-eXtending brackets (Z, which supporta ring D, Figs. 4 and 5. This ring D serves as the basis and support for sheet-metal plates forming the check-pockets. The check-pockets are indicated generally in the drawings by E, and the same are arranged in a complete circle about the ring D. In the preferred form of my device one pocket is provided for each five minutes of a twelve-hour period; but it will be obvious that the number and arrangement can be varied, if desired. The pockets E are formed from a plurality of plates of sheet metal E, (see Fig. 12,) which lie in planes radial with respect to the center of the spider. Each plate has a flange e bent at right angles, which contacts with the outer face of the ring D, and the ends a of these flanges are bent over the edges of the ring D to secure the plates E in position. The upper corners of each plate E are cut horizontally, and the tongues 6 thus formed are bent up at an acute angle to the plane of the plate, so that the tongues on one plate will bear against the next adjacent plate and space the upper edges thereof apart. Similar tongues are formed at the lower outer corners of the plates to space the plates apart, and at the lower inner corner of each plate is a comparatively long diagonally-formed flange e", the purpose of which will presently be apparent. Each of the pockets E is provided with a removable bottom E, constructed from a strip of sheet metal of the proper width. At the inner end of each of these strips is an upwardly-projecting lug t and near the forward end is a similar down wardlyprojecting lug 6. These bottoms E are secured to the plates by raising the outer end of the bottom and pushing in the inner end. This inner end will then contact with the flange 6" and be guided over the upper end thereof until the lug 0 will contact with the flange e and prevent further inward movement of the bottom. The outer end can then be swung down, and the lug 0 will swing inside the tongue 0 thus fixing the bottom in place and making it impossible to move the same without raising its forward end. A number-band E surrounds the top of the pockets, the same bearing against the shoulders formed by the bending back of .the tongues 6 and this nu mber-band has fig- .ures which indicate the hour and minute to which the pockets below the figures correspond.

A sheet-metal band F, supported by brackets f, secured to the base of the cabinet, and by a strip f, which extends down from a crossbar at the front upper edge of the cabinet, surrounds the series of pockets and operates to close the front end of each pocket, except the single pocket which lies opposite a slot f at the front of this band. This band, it will be seen, overhangs the outer ends of the removable bottoms E so as to prevent the raising of said outer ends except that of the bottom of the pocket lying opposite the slot referred to, and by the cooperation of this band with the lugs on the bottoms the said bottoms are held in place, so that it is impossible to remove them accidentally; but they may be removed with the greatest ease by swinging the pockets in turn opposite the slot in the band.

To the band F adjacent to the slotf heretofore mentioned, are secured two plates g, having outwardly-turned ears g, Figs. 10 and 11, between which is pivoted a gate G by means of gudgeons g g passing through holes in said ears. These gudgeons are in the preferred form of construction made from a piece of wire passed through the gate and secured against rotation therein. The gudgeon g is bent in at one end to form an arm 9*, which bears against a spring G, secured to one of the plates 9. The spring and arm are so arranged that the arm will swing over the deadcenter as the gate is moved, and thus the gate is held either up or down. The shape of the gate itself will be best understood from the drawings. It will be seen that it consists of a flat portion g of the width of one of the check-pockets, adapted to lie just inside the slot in the band F and just outside the outer edges of the plate E, which form the pockets. A handle 9 is provided, by which the gate can be raised. This handle bears a lug g which engages with one of the plates 9 to limit the inward motion of the lower end of the gate. At the upper end of the gate is a hook having a beveled end g, Fig. 5, which when the gate is raised passes into one of the pockets and alines it exactly in front of the gate-opening.

The operation of so much of my improved device as has so far been described will now be explained.

Certain mechanism, hereinafter to be described, guides numbered checks from the slot in the top of the cabinet to the pockets corresponding to the time when the checks were deposited. In practice the pockets which correspond to the times before opening and after closing hours are left with open bottoms, and the checks dropped into such pockets pass directly through into trays in the bottom of the cabinet, the arrangement of which will hereinafter be set forth and from which they can be removed and sorted out. Other checks deposited after opening hours fall into pockets having their bottoms in place and are guided down toward the outer edge of said pockets by the slanting bottoms. The checks are thus held in place between the side walls of the pocket, the slanting bottom, and the outer band F. (See dotted lines in Fig. 10.) When it is desired to remove these checks, the locking-bar C is drawn out, leaving the spider B free to rotate, and the spider and all mechanism carried thereby, including the pockets, is rotated by hand, the cheeks sliding along the band F. hen one of the checks reaches the gate, it contacts therewith, as shown in Fig. 1 and stops the rotation of the spider. The gate is then raised, swinging the hooked upper end of the same into the pocket and alining the same directly opposite the slot in the band F. The check then rolls out of the slot and its number can be noted, and simultaneously the swinging down of the hooked portion of the gate ex poses the number on the number-band to view through the slot. hen the time of arrival of the workmen designated by the check in question is ascertained, the gate is closed, leaving the spider again free to rotate. The structure is then moved farther and other checks taken out in succession, as before.

The structure herein illustrated is particularly advantageous for many reasons. The pockets themselves are of extremely simple and practical construction, and the fact that their bottom is removable makes it possible to adjust a single machine to any desired oflice conditions by openingthe bottoms of all pockets corresponding to times before the opening hour. In this way the trouble of collecting, sorting, and making note of the arrival of employees who arrived on time is done away with, andattention need only be paid to delinquents. The arrangement of the gate herein illustrated is advantageous also in that rotation of the spider is prevented when the gate is opened, so that there is no possibility of mistaking the time when an employee arrived. It will be seen that inasmuch as the spider can be rotated only when the gate is shut it will in practice he moved until a check engages with the gate, after which the gate will be ICC swung up, and this prevents further movement, so that absolute certainty in the time of arrival of an employee is attained.

Mounted on the spider B is a clock-movement H, upon the hour-arbor it of which is mounted a hopper I, which lies immediately below the slot in the cabinet. Extendinglaterally from this hopper is afiat radial tube I, adapted to receive checks from the hopper and discharge them over the check-pockets. The hopper and tube are made from two separate pieces of metal secured together in any ordinary way, and the interior of the hopper is provided with a wedge -shaped guide 2', which causes the checks to pass in the proper manner into thetube. At the outer end of the tube 1 is secured a plate 1 having a downwardly-projecting arm i. bearing a roller i bearing on a metal ring B, preferably formed integral with the spider B and raised above the general level of the same by the arms of the spider, which, as seen in Fig. 4, extend upward at an angle from the main portion of the spider. The roller 6 supports the outer end of the tube I and prevents any binding on the arbor which might tend to disarrange the clock-movement.

The plate 1 has two laterally-projecting ears I between which is swung a wedge-shaped spout J, adapted to receive a check from the end of the tube and guide it into the upper edge of one of the pockets. This spout has a downwardly-projecting pin J. which engages with the teeth K on the ring B. As the arm rotates under the influence of the clock-movement this pin engages with the various teeth in succession, dragging over the same as the arm moves. In this way the end of the spout is held over the center of the pocket until the full five-minute period represented by the number on said pocket is passed, when the pin rides over the tooth and the spout passes over to the next succeeding pocket. In this way the checks are prevented from striking the partition between two pockets and clogging the tube, and the employees are given the benefit of all fractions of five-minute periods.

The tube I" carries a hand L, cooperating with a dial M, to show to the employee when he deposits his check the exact time when such deposit was made. The check-tube is provided with perforations in its side to give free access to the interior thereof. In factories and like places where these machines are used dust, dirt, or other particles are liable to enter the check-tube and clog it up. The perforations enable one to see the obstacle and remove the same. The clock-movement H is of any well-known form, and the check-chute is connected thereto by a friction device, so that it can be turned without disturbing the operation of the clock. As shown, a spring [L2 is interposed between one of the wheels h of the clock-movement and the arbor upon which it is mounted. (See Fig. 4.)

No further description of the mechanism by which the checks are guided into place in the pockets will be necessary after the above description of the construction of such parts. The structure is desirable particularly on account of its simplicity and the certainty of its registration.

The only portion of the device now remaining to be described are the trays, already mentioned, into which the checks fall from the open-bottom pockets. In the form of device herein illustrated three trays N N N are provided, each in the form of an annular sector. The trays N N are hinged together, and a curved guide a, secured to the bottom of the cabinet, is provided to aid in the insertion of these trays in place. In practice the end of the tray N is started along the side of the cabinet, and the two trays N N are pushed in. The guide n will then force the trays into the proper place underneath the pockets. The remaining tray N is then pushed into place, and a complete circle is formed which will catch any checks which may be dropped through the pockets. The meeting edges of the trays N N are inclined so as to leave room for the rod 0 and its supporting-brackets, the upper edges meeting each other. The edge of the tray N is bent over so as to form a hook portion a, which extends over the edge of the tray N and holds the two together.

The entire structure so far illustrated and described is advantageous for the reason that it is extremely simple and can be constructed at a price far lower than time-recorders proper. Its lower cost puts it within the reach of many smaller establishments where a time-recorder system is out of the question, and the work is done with perfect accuracy and with no possibility of error.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of this construction without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I do not, therefore, intend to limit myself to the specific form herein shown and described.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a device of the class described,thecombination with an annular series of pockets, open at the periphery, and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successively into the pockets, of a ringsurrounding the pockets and closing the peripheral sides thereof, said ring being relatively movable with respect to the pockets, a slot in the ring and a gate closing the slot and lying when closed, within the ring in position to be engaged by a check in a pocket.

2. In adevice of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets,

open at the periphery, and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successivelyinto the pockets, of a ring surrounding the pockets and closing the peripheral sides thereof, said ring being relatively movable with respect to the pockets, a slot in the ring, a gate adapted to close the slot, and means, movable with the gate, for alining a pocket before the slot when the gate is opened.

3. Ina device of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets, open at the periphery, and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successively into the pockets, of a ring surrounding the pockets and closing the peripheral sides thereof, said ring being relatively movable with respect to the pockets. a slot in the ring, a gate pivoted to the ring and adapted to swing into-the slot and a hook on the upper end of said gate swinging through the slot when the gate is opened to aline a pocket in front of the slot.

4. In adevice of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets, open at the periphery, and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successively into the pockets, of a ring surrounding the pocketsand closing the peripheral sides thereof, said ring being relatively movable with respect to the pockets, a slot in the ring, a gate pivoted to the ring and adapted to swing into the slot, and a beveled hook on the upper end of said gate swinging through aslot when the gate is opened to aline a pocket in front of the slot.

5. In adevice of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets, open at the periphery, and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successively into the pockets, of a ring surrounding the pockets and closing the peripheral sides thereof, said ring being relatively movable with respect to the pockets, a slot in the ring, a gate pivoted to the ring and lying, when closed, inside the slot in position to be engaged by a check in a pocket, and a hook on the gate, constructed and arranged to swing through the slot into one of the pockets when the gate is opened, to aline the pocket before the slot and prevent relative movement of the ring and pockets while the gate is open.

6. In adevice of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets, each having an opening from which a check can be removed and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successively into the pockets, of a ring closing the said openings in all of the pockets, and relatively movable with respect to the same, said ring having a slot adapted to register with the opening of asingle pocket, and a gate lying within the ring and adapted to be engaged by a check in the pocket.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets, each having an opening from which a check can be removed and'clock-controlled means for guiding checks successivelyinto the pockets, of a ring closing the said openings in all of the pockets, and relatively movable with respect to the same, said ring having a slot adapted to register with the opening of a single pocket, and a gate pivoted to the ring and arranged to close the slot, said gate lying in position to be engaged by a check in a pocket to prevent relative movement of the ring and the pockets, and means on the gate arranged to aline a pocket in front of the slot when the gate is opened and to prevent relative movement between the ring and the pockets until the gate is closed.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination with an annular series of pockets open at the periphery and clock-controlled means for guiding checks successively into the same, of a number-band mounted on the pockets, a rin surrounding the pockets and inclosing the open sides thereof, said ring being provided with a slot adapted to register with the open side of a single pocket, a gate pivoted to the ring and closing said slot, and a portion on said gate arranged to move when the gate is open to expose a single number on the number-band through the slot.

9. In adevice of the class described,the combination with a series of pockets and c lockcontrolled means for directing checks successively thereto, of separately-removable portions in said pockets adapted when removed to expose openings in the pockets through which checks can pass without stopping, the apparatus being so constructed and arranged that said openings can be left exposed during the normal operation of the device.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination with a series of pockets and clockcontrolled means for directing checks successively thereto, of separately-removable bottoms in the pockets which can be removed to leave the bottoms of the pockets open during the normal operation of the device.

11. In a time-recorder, the combination of a series of pockets, having separately-removable bottoms, clock-controlled means for directing checks into said pockets successively, and atray under said pockets to receive checks passing through pockets from which the bottoms have been removed.

12. In a device of the class described, the combination with a ring, of a series of radial plates extending outward therefrom, lugs stamped up from said plates to space the same apart to form the side walls of an annular series of pockets, bottoms adapted to be secured in place between said side walls and means for directing checks into the pockets thus form ed.

13. In a device of the class described, the combination with a ring, of a series of plates, tongues bent laterally from the inner end of said plate and having their ends turned over the edges of said ring to secure the plates in place, lugs stamped up from said plates to space the same apart to form the sidewalls of an annular series of pockets, bottoms adapted to be inserted in said pockets and means for directing checks into the pockets thus formed.

14. In a device of the class described, the combination with a ring, radially-extending plates secured thereto and lugs stamped laterally from said plates to space the same apart, of removable bottoms for said pockets, the ends of which extend under said ring, lugs at the inner ends of said bottoms to limit theinner movement of said bottoms, lugs near the forward ends of said bottoms to engage with the lugs on the plates to prevent the removal of the bottoms except when the bottoms are raised, and means for directing checks into the pockets thus formed.

15. In a device of the class described, the combination with a ring, radially-extending plates secured thereto and lugs stamped laterally from said plates to space the same apart, of removable bottoms for said pockets, the ends of which extend under said ring, lugs at the inner ends of said bottoms to limit the inner movement of said bottoms, lugs near the forward ends of said bottoms to engage with the lugs on the plates to prevent the removal of the bottoms except when the bottoms are raised, and an outer band outside said pockof which are constructed without bottoms, of

clock-controlled means for directing checks successively into the pockets and trays, in the shape of annular sectors beneath said pockets.

17. In a device of the class described, the combination with a cabinet, an annular series of pockets supported within the same, certain of which are constructed without bottoms, of clock-controlled means for directing checks successively to the pockets, and trays in the shape of annular sectors hinged together, and a guide for directing the insertion of said trays.

In witness whereof I have signed the above application for Letters Patent, at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 2d day of September, A. D. 190A.

ABRAHAM A. NEWMAN.

Witnesses:

PosEY Ross, GEORGE F. BALDRY. 

